Praying the Psalms this Summer 2009

Praying the Psalms

Wellspring Mini-Retreats through the Summer

  Are you missing times of refreshment in the Lord?  Join Wellspring Ministry on three different occasions through the summer for praying the Psalms and learning the heart language God has given us to draw near to Him.  These will be times primarily for quiet solitude with God and brief teaching on three different psalms.

Location:

Heil Valley Ranch Open Space (West of Longmont on Lefthand Canyon Rd. – Meet in the main parking lot)

Time:

6:30-8:00 PM

Dates:

3^rd Mondays of the month through the summer

June 15, 2009 – Praying Psalms of Trust

July 20, 2009 – Praying Psalms of Lament and Sorrow

August 17, 2009 – Praying Psalms of Praise and Thanksgiving

 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Ps 63:1

 For information please contact us with a note on this post.

Blessings, Scott and Dave for Wellspring Ministry  Http://wellspring1.wordpress.com

 

Learning to Trust

Psalm 25:1-2
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;
O my God, in You I trust

I spent more time reflecting on this passage this weekend at the retreat we (Wellspring) hosted. These two lines have become my prayer, daily prayer, for almost two years now. Has it made a difference in my life?

I cannot really quantify that answer very well, but this I know, I do a lot more running to God when life presents difficulties. Even when things are going well I still find myself drawn to this prayer of surrender.  In this short little prayer I am confessing I don’t really control much, and that only God can be trusted. I know I have no way of making life always work out the way I want. I can’t trust my soul to this world or to the circumstances of life…even if they are good and pleasant circumstances. If I did, I am sure to be in a bigger mess than I already am.

As I prepared to lead and teach on these two verses something emerged: trust seems to be the opposite side of worry. Worry is this unsuccessful way of trying to control circumstances. 

Trust in God is letting go of worry. Worry seems to be the way to control situations. However, worry does not add one thing to life; it takes away; it robs of life.

Worry is a tight fisted life; trust is open handed. Worry says it is mine; trust says it is God’s, a gift for me to enjoy not control. Worry is angry when something I think I should control or keep is taken away; trust is knowing that God gives better than I can imagine and so I can have peace in all situations.

Trust sees the good; worry and fear sees that this will all turn out badly.

But trust is not magic. It takes surrender.  Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane had to let go of control and His desire for another way, and surrender to the Father’s will.

Brenning Manning writes of trust: “The splendor of a human heart that trusts and is loved unconditionally gives God more pleasure than Westminster Cathedral, the Sistine Chapel, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, the sight of 10,000 butterflies in flight, or the scent of a million orchids in bloom. Trust is our gift back to God, and he finds it so enchanting that Jesus died for love of it.” {From Manning’s discussion of his book Ruthless Trust)

Manning also stated something important about trust in difficult times: “The dominant characteristic of an authentic spiritual life is the gratitude that flows from trust—not only for all the gifts that I receive from God, but gratitude for all the suffering. Because in that purifying experience, suffering has often been the shortest path to intimacy with God. I’d also add that biblical trust grows out of love. My trust in God flows out of the experience of his loving me, day in and day out, whether the day is stormy or fair, whether I’m sick or in good health, whether I’m in a state of grace or disgrace. He comes to me where I live and loves me as I am. “

So I keep praying this…until I see Him face to face and the struggles of this life fade away in the glory of His presence.  I keep working on surrender and trust in a God who loves.

Blessings, Scott for Wellspring © copyright 2009

The Beginning…To Praying the Psalms

Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

4 Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

 

Here is the entrance to the psalms.  For centuries the psalms have served as the prayer book of the followers of God, first for the Jews and then for Christians.  But this first psalm is not really a prayer.  It simply shows the condition of heart necessary to enter into the psalms.  And conversely it shows the condition of the heart that cannot enter into this sacred journey offered in the psalms.

 

The one who can enter into these prayers is the one who delights in the Lord.  They are depicted as a tree planted by streams of water.  Like a tree planted next to a stream, the person depicted here is planted firm in the word of God and receives continual nourishment.  This creates a life of richness and fullness and much fruit.  Certainly, the storms will come but the roots are planted deep in God and keep the tree from toppling over.  Dry seasons may also come but they do not whither because of the sustenance found in God.

 

But not so the wicked.  They certainly will not be able to enter into the prayers of these psalms, of adoration and trust; of celebration and thanksgiving; or even of lament.  They are depicted like chaff that the wind simply blows away.  They do not withstand the storms or grow from them.  They are tossed about and become increasingly hardened to the grace and help available in God.

 

The tree stands, while the chaff is blown away.

 

This first psalm can show us the condition of our own heart.  Are we ones who delight in God and desire His word day and night?  Or would we rather sit in the seat of mockers? 

 

It is not too late to be planted next to the living streams of water.  God can transplant us there.  Pray to God for a heart that delights in Him.  Make the dwelling place of your heart to be in His word.  If you do, you will be able to enter into the prayers of the psalms and take that sacred journey from praise to lament and back again.

 

Blessings, Scott for Wellspring © copyright 2008